Letter From the Chair

Hello, I'm Dr. Mary Umlauf, Professor of Nursing at the University of Alabama. Welcome to TheWakeUpSquad.com, part of a public disease education initiative brought to you by Cephalon, Inc. I am proud to be serving as the chair of this program, which is designed to educate community members about health concerns related to shift work disorder (SWD), as well as the symptoms associated with this condition.

Through this Web site, we hope to provide a resource for people to learn more about this important and often under-recognized medical condition. Shift work disorder is a condition that occurs when your body's circadian rhythm or clock is out of sync with your work schedule. This disturbance can lead to excessive sleepiness during waking hours or insomnia, trouble sleeping during sleeping hours.¹

What is the circadian clock? This is the common name for the part of the brain that controls the human drive to be active and to be asleep.² Human beings, like most animals, have evolved to be active in the daylight and to sleep in the dark. Historically, the workday began at dawn and ended when the sun went down. For most of the population, the sleep-wake pattern or circadian clock in our bodies is still following that cycle. However, today it is estimated that over 15 million Americans work odd hours or non-traditional shifts.³

Sleep is a lot like nutrition. We can't cheat on our diets all week and then try to be good over the weekend to and expect to lose weight. The experts tell us that we need to watch our diet and get adequate doses of good quality sleep to be healthy.⁴ Shift work disorder, however, can be a problem even if we get enough sleep. We need to start by maximizing our sleep time and our sleep-wake environment.⁵ If SWD is a problem for you or a loved one, seeing your family doctor is the next step. The Web site, TheWakeUpSquad.com, has been designed to educate and inform shift workers, their families, and the public about this disorder, and to offer screening tools that help people discuss their symptoms with their healthcare professional.

We will be updating this Web site with educational material about SWD regularly. We plan to address common situations where workers have the most problems with excessive sleepiness at work. Because sleep is an important part of being healthy, we will give you tips on how to promote sleep at home. Family cooperation is important to day sleeping, so we will include information you can share with your household members and family.

We hope that you will find this Web site helpful. We encourage you to learn more about SWD and how to avoid feeling too sleepy during your workday so that you can accomplish the things you need to do.

Stay safe and stay healthy.
Mary Umlauf, RN, PhD, FAAN

Dr. Mary Umlauf is a spokesperson for this public disease education initiative and has been compensated by Cephalon for her time.

References: 1. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders: Diagnostic and Coding Manual. 2nd ed. Westchester, IL: American Academy of Sleep Medicine; 2005. 2. Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Web site. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm. Accessed: May 25, 2010. 3. US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers on flexible and shift schedules. Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/flex.pdf. Accessed May 11, 2009. 4. National Sleep Foundation - Diet, Exercise and Sleep. http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/diet-exercise-and-sleep. Accessed: May 25, 2010. 5. Understanding Sleep: Deep Sleep, REM Sleep, Cycles, Stages, and Needs. http://helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm. Accessed: May 25, 2010.

Sign up for a free Shift Work Disorder (SWD) Self-Assessment Tool you can share with your doctor. The Wake-Up Squad will also send you some helpful information about SWD.